Sihanaka dialect
| Sihanaka | |
|---|---|
| Native to | |
| Ethnicity | Sihanaka |
Native speakers | 695,000 [1] |
Austronesian
| |
| |
| Language codes | |
| ISO 639-1 | mg |
| ISO 639-3 | plt |
| Glottolog | siha1244 |
| Linguasphere | 31-LDA-ab |
Sihanaka is a dialect of Malagasy spoken by Sihanaka people in the region of Lake Alaotra.[2]
Classification
[edit]Sihanaka is an austronesian language part of Central-Eastern Malagasic [3] and part of the Plateau branch of Malagasy language alongside with Merina, Antefasy,Antemoro, Tanala and Betsileo.
Characteristics
[edit]Demonstrative prefixes such as tak- and ak- are characteristic of Malagasy dialects in the Northern Malagasy group (including Tsimihety and Northern Betsimisaraka), as well as in the Sihanaka and Southern Betsimisaraka dialects, which both belong to the Central-Eastern Malagasic family group. In contrast, the Merina dialect, also Central-Eastern, no longer employs demonstrative prefixes.
Despite the geographical discontinuity between Sihanaka and Southern Betsimisaraka, these dialects, along with Northern Betsimisaraka and Tsimihety, share the term agnambo for "up / above," while the Merina dialect uses the distinct term ambony.[4]
| Gloss | Central-Eastern Malagasic | Northern Malagasic | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Without prefix | With prefix | With prefix | |||
| Merina | Sihanaka | Southern Betsimisaraka | Northern Betsimisaraka | Tsimihety | |
| In (present moment) | ato | akato | akato | akato | akato |
| In (past moment) | tato | takato | takato | takato | takato |
| In (general location) | ao | akao | akao | akao | akao |
| On (surface) | eo | akeo | akeo | akeo | akeo |
| Here | eto | aketo | aketo | aketo | aketo |
| There (general location) | any | akagny | akagny | akagny | akagny |
| There (past location) | tany | takagny | takagny | takagny | takagny |
| There (recently passed spot) | teo | takeo | takeo | takeo | takeo |
| Then (after that moment) | avy eo | avy akeo | avy akeo | avy akeo | avy akeo |
| Spatial Lexicon | |||||
| Up / above | ambony | agnambo | agnambo | agnambo | agnambo |
Territorial Range
[edit]In the Alaotra-Mangoro region of Madagascar, the Sihanaka dialect is chiefly spoken within three districts — Ambatondrazaka District, Amparafaravola District, and Andilamena District — which together form the historical heartland of the Sihanaka people.[5]
Vocabulary
[edit]| English | Malagasy standard | Sihanaka |
|---|---|---|
| One | Iray | Raika |
| God | Andriamanitra | Andriamagnitra |
| Mango | Manga | Voamanga |
| Sweet potato | Voamanga | Tsimanga |
| Papaya | Papay | Mampazo |
| Pine apple | Mananasy | Manasy |
| Quality/Personality | Toetra | Toatra |
| Huge | Ngezabe | Gedabe |
| Goyava | Goavy | Gavo |
| Thing | Zavatra | ràha |
| Woman/Girl | Vehivavy | Viavy |
| Here | Eto | Aketo |
| There | Eo | Akeo |
| In | Ao | Akao |
| In/Inside | Anaty | Agnaty |
| Above | Ambony | Agnambo |
| Always | Foana | Foagna |
| What | Inona | Ino |
| How | Ahoana | Anakôry |
| Then | Avy eo | Avy takeo |
| Till When | Hatramin'oviana | Katram'oviana |
| Both | Samy | Samby |
| Him/His | Azy | Ananzy |
| They/Them | Ireo/Zareo | Zareo |
| In the house | Ao an-trano | An-dragno |
| To hear | Maheno | Maregny |
| His name | Anarany | Agnarany |
| Don't fear | Aza matahotra | Aza matahatra |
| We call her Hasinah | Hasinah no iantsoana azy | Hasinah agnantsonvangnan'azy |
References
[edit]- ^ "PeopleGroups.org - Sihanaka of Madagascar". peoplegroups.org.
- ^ "The Sihanaka of Madagascar: God Speaks in Our Language - Wycliffe Bible Translators USA Homepage". www.wycliffe.org.
- ^ Cust, Robert Needham (1878). A Sketch of the Modern Languages of the East Indies (Reprint 2013 ed.). Routledge. p. 71. ISBN 9780415245012.
{{cite book}}: ISBN / Date incompatibility (help) - ^ Jacques Dez, Cheminements linguistiques malgaches au-delà des grammaires usuelles, 1990, p. 111.
- ^ "Bilan & évaluation des projets de conservation des sols de la région de Lac Alaotra" (PDF). Open‑Library (CIRAD). Retrieved 28 June 2025.